Middlesex, England, Convict Transportation Contracts, 1682-1787

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Middlesex, England, Convict Transportation Contracts, 1682-1787 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Original data: Middlesex Transportation Orders. London, England: The London Archives. Images produced by permission of The London Archives (City of London Corporation). The City of London gives no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purpose of the information provided. Images may be used only for purposes of research, private study or education. Applications for any other use should be made to The London Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB via – www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma. Infringement of the above condition may result in legal action.

About Middlesex, England, Convict Transportation Contracts, 1682-1787

Transportation, as a punishment for convicted criminals in England and other parts of the British Empire, came about in the seventeenth century. At first transportation was primarily to America and the Caribbean. However, transportation to America stopped with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1776 and a new penal colony in Australia was developed. Transportation was formally abolished in 1868, but had not been practiced for nearly a decade before that.

What’s Included?

This is a collection of Middlesex Quarter Sessions Court orders for convicts to be transferred to British Colonies. Specifically the convicts were transferred to America, the Caribbean, or, in later years, Australia. Information available in these contracts includes:

  • Convict Name
  • Ship Name
  • Captain Name
  • Destination
  • Transfer Dates

These records can be used to help find court records relating to the original conviction. Search the records for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions Court for more information.